Crawley boy aged 9 inspired to scale Mount Snowdon after receiving message from famous climber

When young George Coleman received a video message from famous British climber Jake Meyer there was no stopping him scaling Mount Snowdon.
By Sol Buckner
Published 11th Sep 2019, 17:34 BST
George on his walk up Mount SnowdonGeorge on his walk up Mount Snowdon
George on his walk up Mount Snowdon

George fell in love with climbing earlier this year during a trip to the Brecon Beacons in Wales where he ‘touched the clouds.’

He wanted to raise money for his football team Maidenbower Colts FC to help them buy winter kits and training equipment.

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And through the kind sponsorship of friends, family and others, George raised £1,010. George plays for the Colts under-ten side and also plays for Crawley Town FC’s Elite Development Centre.

George with his dad Richard on their memorable walkGeorge with his dad Richard on their memorable walk
George with his dad Richard on their memorable walk

Ahead of his 3,500 feet ascent up the biggest mountain in England and Wales, George received a message of encouragement from Jake who achieved fame by becoming the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest in 2005 at the age of 21 years and four months.

In doing so, Meyer also became the youngest Briton to complete the Seven Summits.

George’s dad Richard met Jake a few years ago at a function relating to one of his sponsors.

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Richard and George visited the Pen Y Gwryd hotel at the foot of Mount Snowdon. It is where Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay stayed as they trained ahead of their climb up Mount Everest.

George’s dad Richard said: “He fell in love with hill walking having been able to ‘touch the clouds’ on top of Pen y Fan and Corn Du in the Brecon Beacons in May this year. He wanted to take on a bigger challenge and wanted to tackle Everest next but we negotiated that we’d start with Mount Snowdon first.

“We stayed at the YHA at Pen Y Pass and even visited the Pen y Gwryd for some Edmund Hillary inspiration to get us to the top. George had been learning about mountains and in turn the expeditions of Edmund Hillary, so gave him some real inspiration.

“George even received a video message of encouragement from Jake Meyer. He was a true gent and sent a message and even followed up after our trip to see how it all went. It was a wonderful adventure making ‘those were the days’ memories.”